“Humans' Best Friend” – The Dog

The dog, a mammal that goes by the scientific name Canis lupus familiaris, is a subspecies of the grey wolf (Canis lupus). Together with the cat, the dog is one of the most popular pets worldwide. Evidence shows that dogs have lived with us humans for more than 14,000 years. At first, they were primarily our hunting partners, companions and protectors. Later, however, in many parts of the world, they also became our friends, family members, partner substitutes and comforters.

Ancestry Fossil finds in North America, Europe and Asia indicate that about 60 million years ago there lived a species of carnivore that resembled a weasel, with the scientific name Miacis. About 30 to 40 million years ago it evolved into the Cynodictis (Greek = “slender dog marten”), an animal that looked rather more dog-like. Two branches descended from it, one in Africa and the other in Eurasia. The latter is known by the scientific name Tomarctus and is considered to be the progenitor of wolves and subsequently dogs. It lived about 15 million years ago. Domestication It is still not completely known where and how often dogs were domesticated or who domesticated them. However, it is thought that dogs began to domesticate themselves by following humans so they could feed on the remains of their prey. According to a new study published in the scientific journal PNAS, this process started about 23,000 years ago in Siberia. Role in human society Dogs have played an important role in human society for a very long time, and the canine-human relationship is still thriving in many forms in the present day. For early hunter-gatherers, dogs were hunting companions and bodyguards against predators. With the domestication of farm animals, dogs took over tasks such as herding and acting as guard dogs, protecting farmers’ goats and sheep. Today, while they continue to perform these tasks in some places, they are also utilised in many other fields.